英語聽力：美洲大平原-13

A lone wolf weighs as much as four coyotes, but one on one it's still no match for a bison. Wolves, though, live and hunt in packs of up to 15 and when they launch a cooperative attack, they're devastating.

First they get the bison on the run, then filter out the weak and vulnerable and select the perfect target. Striking together, wolves can bring down prey many times their own size. A million such chases must have taken place across these plains and we can still find echoes of these distant life-or-death encounters.

Not all evidence lies locked in bone and rock. These pronghorn antelopes among the great survivors of the ice age reveal a lot about the distant past. As well as being tough enough to stand extremes of temperature, they're famous for their speed.

A sprinting pronghorn can top 60 miles an hour and cruise at 30 for several hours. This kind of speed requires a very finely tuned physique. Pronghorn have a massive heart and run with their mouths gaping open, forcing extra air into their huge lungs.

But what's the point? No predator can run this fast. Even the wolves can only manage 40 miles an hour. So why do pronghorn feel this need for speed? This is why—once there was a predator here that could outrun the pronghorn a cheetah.

1 lone

adj.孤寂的，單獨的;唯一的

參考例句：

A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤獨的海鷗在空中飛過。

She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空曠的海灘上能看到一個孤獨的身影。

2 devastating

adj.毀滅性的，令人震驚的，強有力的

參考例句：

It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.這是20年來破壞性最大的風(fēng)暴。

Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情確實會對婚姻造成毀滅性的影響。

3 prey

n.被掠食者，犧牲者，掠食;v.捕食，掠奪，折磨

參考例句：

Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉強食。

The lion was hunting for its prey.獅子在尋找獵物。

4 antelopes

羚羊( antelope的名詞復(fù)數(shù) ); 羚羊皮革

參考例句：

One jump, and you're out, and we'll run for it like antelopes.' 你只要一跳就出來了，我們可以像羚羊那樣飛快地逃掉。”

Most antelopes can withhold their young for weeks, even months. 絕大部分羚羊能把分娩期推遲幾個星期，甚至幾個月。

5 survivors

幸存者，殘存者，生還者( survivor的名詞復(fù)數(shù) )

參考例句：

The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。

survivors clinging to a raft 緊緊抓住救生筏的幸存者

6 sprinting

v.短距離疾跑( sprint的現(xiàn)在分詞 )

參考例句：

Stride length and frequency are the most important elements of sprinting. 步長和步頻是短跑最重要的因素。 來自互聯(lián)網(wǎng)

Xiaoming won the gold medal for sprinting in the school sports meeting. 小明在學(xué)校運動會上奪得了短跑金牌。 來自互聯(lián)網(wǎng)

7 tuned

adj.調(diào)諧的，已調(diào)諧的v.調(diào)音( tune的過去式和過去分詞 );調(diào)整;(給收音機、電視等)調(diào)諧;使協(xié)調(diào)

參考例句：

The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 這個度假勝地適合各種口味，老少皆宜。

The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出開始前都應(yīng)將樂器調(diào)好音。 來自《簡明英漢詞典》

8 gaping

adj.口的;張口的;敞口的;多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝視( gape的現(xiàn)在分詞 );張開，張大

參考例句：

Ahead of them was a gaping abyss. 他們前面是一個巨大的深淵。

The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊無法從鱷魚張開的大口中逃脫。 來自《簡明英漢詞典》

9 predator

n.捕食其它動物的動物;捕食者

參考例句：

The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分簡要總結(jié)了食肉動物。

Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龍是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一種令人恐懼的捕食性動物。

10 cheetah

n.(動物)獵豹

參考例句：

The cheetah is generally credited as the world's fastest animal.獵豹被公認(rèn)是世界上跑得最快的動物。

The distribution of the cheetah ranges from Africa to Central Asia.印度豹的足跡遍及從非洲到中亞的廣大地區(qū)。